Electrical issues
 

Good afternoon Forum,
After doing some mid-summer maintenance & repairs, my electrical system is now acting up. :shock:
I recently replaced an old battery with a fresh 12BS battery, and bought a desulfating charger/maintainer to keep it fresh.
I also added a 12V accessory plug to my dashboard, so I can run a GPS for trips into the "country" with my wife.

Now, after riding it a few times, the system doesn't seem to want to keep the battery charged. I've put it back on the charger, but it doens't want to start.
Thinking the new plug to be the problem, I disconnected it (and the charger "pigtail"), pulled the battery and charged it off the bike. After checking all fuses & connections & reinstalling, it still won't start.
This time, when pulling the battery to charge again, I noticed a hot negative battery terminal.

I'm wondering if this could be the R/R failing (finally after 20K miles), or something more serious? Any help y'all could supply would be greatly appreciated. BTW, I have a quality voltmeter, but haven't begun tearing things down to troubleshoot. I'm hoping some advice from fellow listers might give me a direction in which to begin. ;)

You've got a short somewhere...As Aladin Electric Company in Champaign, IL used to advertise..."Call us! We'll remove your shorts!"

My money (very little left) is on the R/R. Eric Marquez, on this site, has the best plug and play replacement out there. I've got all LED which sheads a lot of excess power and a LIPO battery and it's been great for a few years now. It bypasses most all the old (weak) wiring. He also has some great posts on how to determine if yours is bad. Let us know what you find out.

It won't hurt to check and clean your grounds as well.
If that's never been done it could be as simple as that.
Get that DVM working for you and you'll figure it out.
Good luck. 👍

“Won’t start” as in doesn’t crank or won’t crank fast/long enough to start.
Do a parasitic drain test on the battery.